Two traffic police officers and six civilians have been wounded in a suicide bombing in the capital of Russia’s republic of Chechnya, Grozny.
Both police officers – one of whom currently in a serious condition in hospital – were on duty when the blast occurred.
“The suicide bomber was presumably a middle aged woman,” a source from the Prosecutor’s Investigation Committee told Interfax news agency.RIA Novosti, also citing a source from the investigation committee, writes the explosive device contained nails and other sub-projectiles to cause further casualties and damage.
A criminal investigation has been launched.
According to the Chechen Interior Ministry, traffic police noticed a suspicious looking woman at 10:35 am Moscow time in the city centre. The woman blew herself up when the police officers approached her and asked her to produce her ID papers.
This explosion is one in a series of violent bombings that have taken place in Russia’s Caucasus.
The anti-terrorism operation in Chechnya officially ended in April. However, the republic has seen a surge of violence in recent months, with attacks on security forces and authorities a regular occurrence.